Research Article

The Use of Parsimonious Questionnaires in Occupational Health Surveillance: Psychometric Properties of the Short Italian Version of the Effort/Reward Imbalance Questionnaire

Table 2

Principal component analysis of ERI items with varimax rotation of factor loadings. The significant item loadings are highlighted by Bold.

Item no. Mean (SD)ComponentsItem-total correlation coefficient (corrected)
1234

eri1 (§)—I have constant time pressure due to a heavy work load2.46 (.79)−.149.753−.140−.081.547
eri2 (§)—I have many interruptions and disturbances while performing my job2.64 (.82)−.057.727−.139−.071.486
eri3 (§)—Over the past few years, my job has become more and more demanding2.14 (.76)−.098.739−.003−.015.498
eri4 (§)—I receive the respect I deserve from my superior or a respective relevant person3.17 (.72).082−.051.702−.024.402
eri5—My job promotion perspectives are poor2.48 (.89)−.022−.219.173.667.408
eri6—I have experienced or I expect to experience an undesirable change in my work situation2.72 (.76).108−.170.234.717.518
eri7—My job security is poor2.68 (.81).077.119.071.787.396
eri8 (§)—Considering all my efforts and achievements, I receive the respect and prestige I deserve at work2.79 (.72)−.016−.051.791.102.540
eri9 (§)—Considering all my efforts and achievements, my job promotion prospects are adequate2.62 (.71).030−.027.698.306.540
eri10 (§)—Considering all my efforts and achievements, my salary/income is adequate2.19 (.77)−.128−.120.546.226.385
oc1—I get easily overwhelmed by time pressure at work2.65 (.71).305−.556.006.091.350
oc2—As soon as I get up in the morning I start thinking about work problems2.76 (.83).686−.233−.034.101.539
oc3 (§)—When I get home, I can easily relax and “switch off” work2.79 (.77).647.069.268−.045.360
oc4—People close to me say I sacrifice too much for my job2.46 (.74).417−.295−.104.068.344
oc5—Work rarely lets me go, it is still on my mind when I go to bed2.85 (.76).791−.168−.022.016.613
oc6—If I postpone something that I was supposed to do today I’ll have trouble sleeping at night2.64 (.81).713−.104−.078.043.506

ConstructOvercommitmentEffortReward-respectReward-career

% of variance explained by the scale14.8%14.1%13.3%11.1%

Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha).72.69.68.63

(§) reversed score.